A team of scientists say that nature in cities reduces feelings of loneliness.
According to their research, loneliness can raise a person's risk of death by 45%, more than air pollution, Obesity or alcohol abuse.
The environment can affect loneliness. It used real-time data instead of relying on people's memories.
Feelings of overcrowding increased loneliness by 39% according to the research. Feelings of loneliness fell when people were able to see trees or hear birds. When feelings of social inclusion coincide with contact with nature the beneficial effect was boosted by 18%.
The researchers said that specific measures that increase social inclusion and contact with nature should be implemented in densely populated cities.
It is thought that time spent in nature is good for your health and can save the UK at least £185m a year in mental health costs. The researchers said that natural places in cities could reduce loneliness by enhancing feelings of attachment to a place.
Prof Mechelli is an expert in early intervention in mental health at King's College London and is part of the research team. Natural features and social inclusivity can decrease loneliness.
Michael Smythe, an artist who works on social architecture and urban landscapes and was part of the study team, said: "For people like us who work with public space, the anecdotal knowledge we get on the ground with data is incredibly valuable in communicating the worth of these spaces." Public health and environmental health are the same.
The data was collected using the Urban Mind research app and was published in the Scientific Reports journal. People were asked to answer questions about loneliness, overcrowding, social inclusion and contact with nature during a fortnight.
More than 750 people provided 16,600 assessments, which included the questions "do you feel welcome among the people around you?" and "can you see trees right now?"
The participants did not give a representative sample of the wider population. The benefits of nature contact and feelings of social inclusion on loneliness remained strongly statistically significant when the researchers took age, ethnicity, education, and occupation into account.
Christopher Gidlow, a professor of applied health research at the UK's Staffordshire University, said that access to natural environments can foster social interactions. The study adds to the evidence of our affinity for natural environments and the potential benefits for social wellbeing.
People tend to visit the same natural environments whenFamiliarity with environments was not measured. It has been shown that familiarity has a correlation with feeling more connected to a place.
Johanna Gibbons, a landscape architect and part of the research team, said that cities are probably the only habitat that is increasing at a high rate. People can thrive in urban habitats. I believe that nature is a critical component of that because I believe there are deep connections with natural forces.
